


A Piece of Cake

by imaginary_witness



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Birthday, Erwin Smith's Birthday, M/M, Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku | Attack on Titan: No Regrets, Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku | Attack on Titan: No Regrets Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27004669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginary_witness/pseuds/imaginary_witness
Summary: It's Erwin's birthday and he wants Levi to try some of his cake. (One shot. Set after No Regrets but before Erwin becomes Commander of the Survey Corps. For Erwin's birthday, 2020)
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Kudos: 56





	A Piece of Cake

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Art by @melt_08](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/700537) by melt_08. 



> Title: A Piece of Cake
> 
> Author: imaginary_witness
> 
> Pairings: Eruri
> 
> Ratings: T
> 
> Warnings: None
> 
> Genre: Romance, Friendship, Birthday.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story: living (or passed) human beings or fictional characters. These events never happened, according to history or as the original author intended them. This is a work of fiction and is not intended to offend. For entertainment purposes only. Thanks.
> 
> Author's Notes: Inspired by several beautiful drawings for Erwin's birthday done by melt_08 on Twitter (2020). Happy Birthday Erwin!
> 
> https://twitter.com/melt_08/status/1316031570877190144

It had been a lovely day. The sun was out and there was a light breeze that kept the temperature from rising too high. There wasn't a cloud in sight to mar the brilliant view of the bright sky. The horses were happy. The scouts were eager to be heading home. It was a perfect ending to their latest excursion beyond the walls.

Too perfect.

The calm ambiance was shattered by a cloud of red smoke up ahead. Levi turned his attention to the smoke, then looked around for the corresponding green that would lead the scouts away from the danger. Only more red smoke flew up. This time from the east. He gasped, but the sound of another flare caused his voice to catch in his throat as red smoke flew up from the west. There was no where to go that was safe.

The thundering steps of a titan began to sway the ground beneath his horse's hooves. By the sounds of its feet it was well over twenty meters. Screams rose up all around him and dark clouds rolled across the sun. There was no trees around them to tether to. There was no coverage to hide. He turned to face the titan, intending to use his gear to anchor directly to the titan and climb it. It was a dangerous method, but it was effective at slicing the titan's neck.

"Levi, it's too dangerous!"

Erwin's voice broke through his thoughts. Levi turned to see the blonde soldier racing towards him on his white stallion, coming over from the west.

"You should be at the front of the unit!" Levi replied, "With the Commander!"

"He's dead!" Erwin replied. "I need to get all of the elite soldiers to safety!"

"What about your safety?!" Levi demanded.

The titan behind them appeared to be gaining speed. Its footsteps were heavy and shook the earth.

"Never mind that!" Erwin replied.

"We need to slay that titan before it eats everyone!" Levi shouted, "I-"

"Ride ahead, Levi!" Erwin shouted, "I brought you into this army! I won't witness you dying in it!"

Levi's heart filled with warmth at the blonde's words. He kept his lips in a firm line and hid his emotions with ease.

"I won't leave you to deal with it alone! We both know I can take it down-"

"Ride ahead!" Erwin shouted, cutting Levi off. "That is an order!"

Without another word, Erwin tugged on the reigns of his horse and slowed down, then veered off to the west again. Levi could feel the earth stop shaking so much as the thundering sound of the titan's feet gradually began to fade into the distance. For a time he obeyed Erwin and raced ahead. But his heart ached and he knew that this was an order he simply couldn't follow. He turned his horse around sharply, knowing he would regret it if he didn't. Both the titan and Erwin were nowhere in sight, so Levi began to race back the way he had came from. He hoped that he would be met with the smoking remains of the titan, which he would know to mean Erwin had easily slain it and moved on to warn more elite soldiers to ride to safety - since the weaker ones would already be gone - but he saw no smoke rising in the distance.

Slowly, figures began to appear to him, just as silhouettes at first, but gradually more and more clear.

Erwin's proud horse lay broken on the ground. Its snow white fur was bloody and dirty and its body lay lifelessly, gazing upwards with glassy eyes.

Levi gasped, immediately looking for Erwin. He spotted him immediately, his bright blonde hair shimmering brightly against the darkened sky. He was yelling loudly in the fist of the titan, yet he appeared to have no fear as he attempted to swing his blade at the titan with one hand.

"Erwin." Levi breathed his name.

"Levi!" Erwin shouted, catching sight of him. "Levi, run!"

Levi exhaled shakily and discharged his maneuver gear. The anchors fired at the titan, but he knew he was already too late. The titan began to lift its hand to its mouth, its gaping mouth opening wide. Erwin was slowly being lowered inside. Levi pulled the triggers to reel himself towards the titan's neck as soon as the anchors sunk in enough to give him a strong hold, but the titan was already closing its mouth. Levi felt the gear pull his hips and constrict around his limbs before was suddenly jerked towards the titans neck, speeding towards it. He began to drawn back his blades, cry out in anger, and muster all his strength to slice the neck of the titan when he heard the tell-tale bone-crunching close of the titans jaw.

Levi lost all strength in his arms and his body fell. His maneuver gear caught him and he hung suspected near the titan's lower back, his arms feeling like lead. He could hear the titan crunching on Erwin's bones above him and the sound was more defeating than anything he had ever heard.

"Erwin," he breathed, unable to move. The blonde hadn't even screamed as he died.

Yet Levi had. He sat up screaming and throwing the blanket off himself with surprise. It took a moment for him to realize he had only had a bad dream, and then he collected himself and pushed the hair out of his eyes as he breathed deeply.

"It was… just a dream." He breathed, trying to reassure himself.

"What was just a dream?" A familiar voice asked, full of concern.

Levi turned to see Erwin in the doorway. He was dressed in his usual white button up and Survey Corps uniform, but today he wore a blue sash across his chest with gold trimming. His appearance surprised Levi, but he realized that Erwin would have raced over since he most likely heard Levi screaming.

Levi breathed deeply, glad that he didn't blush despite his embarrassment. "It was nothing."

"It was another of those dreams, wasn't it?" Erwin replied.

"It's not important." Levi replied. He wasn't sure why Erwin even cared about his nightmares. He would undeniably have them after he had witnessed his two best friends being eaten by titans on his first expedition. But the blonde had overreacted and began to have Levi sleep on the couch in his own room, which only made Levi feel more awkward around the soldier than he already did. It was true, he liked the man - more than he like anyone before. But he wasn't ready to tell him that. He wasn't even ready to tell himself that. So he continued to play it cool and hope that the blonde wouldn't notice how his heart rate would increase whenever he was around.

"It is important." Erwin protested. "How many times have we gone over this?" He asked, entering the room and coming over to sit on the couch beside Levi's legs. He didn't care to ask Levi if it was alright, he simply joined him as if this was natural for them.

Levi immediately tried to become as small as possible to allow some distance to remain between them. He didn't want Erwin to touch him, even if it was just their bodies grazing together by accident.

Erwin reached out to touch his shoulder, then reconsidered. He pulled his hand back and smiled down at Levi. "These dreams are usual for new members. But Levi, it's been a year. You need to talk to someone about these dreams or they are going to keep bothering you. It could be damaging if you don't open up and tell someone-"

"That I keep seeing my friends die?" Levi replied flatly. He sighed, as if this topic was boring to him. He knew he was coming across as defensive, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want Erwin to know he had stopped dreaming of Bella and Furlan a few months ago. Now the dreams were scarier because they focused on losing Erwin - and Levi wasn't sure what he would do with himself if he ever lost Erwin. He figured everything would lose meaning to him then and he would be suspended in a time-space moment just like he always ended up being suspended on the back of the titan.

Erwin frowned. He clearly wanted to say something, but he chewed on his cheek to keep from saying it. Levi was hard to communicate with when he got standoffish, and Erwin knew that he would have to be gentle with Levi if he wanted to know about these dreams.

"You could be traumatizing yourself, Levi."

Levi's head whipped towards the door to see the obnoxious science-enthusiast of the Survey Corps heading through the open bedroom door towards him. He narrowed his silver eyes.

"Oh please, spare me four-eyes." He replied.

"But Erwin's right, Levi." Hanji continued, smiling brightly as if she hadn't heard the insult. "You could only be hurting yourself. Mentally. Emotionally. You should talk to someone. Let me crack into that head of your's-"

"If you come any closer, you're going to be the one with the cracked head." Levi warned her in a low voice.

Hanji chuckled, but she held her hands up and stopped midway across the room from him.

"What are you doing here?" Levi sighed, asking her what he hoped would be an easy question to answer. "I mean, I get him. He always comes rushing in when I scream." He glared at Erwin. It was then he focused on the blue sash. "What the fuck are you wearing?" He demanded.

Erwin's bright blue eyes widened with surprise and then he looked down at himself. He touched the blue sash and then blushed softly. "Oh, this. Uh, yeah Mike and Hanji are making me wear this. For my birthday-"

"It's your birthday today?" Levi asked, his voice surprisingly soft but still guarded. He mentally kicked himself. He was ruining Erwin's special day.

"Well, yeah."

"He's turning-" Hanji began.

"I don't care." Levi replied, turning to face Hanji with an annoyed expression. He turned back to face Erwin. "I mean, happy birthday."

Erwin beamed at Levi, full of happiness at the well-wishing. "Thank you, Levi." He responded in a bright tone. "Would you… like to come have some cake with us?" He asked.

"In the morning?" Levi asked with surprise.

Erwin chuckled weakly, glancing at Hanji with some discomfort. "Well, no Levi. It's… it's almost dinner time. I had to put you to bed because you passed out in the mess hall at breakfast."

Levi glanced towards the window. The sun was high. He knew that he had been awake for over two days before he fell asleep, but he just didn't want to see another of those dreams. He realized that it was well after noon. He tried to seem indifferent to this.

"Oh." He replied flatly. "So I did." He looked towards Hanji, then back to Erwin. Mike and her must've arranged the sash and cake for Erwin's birthday. And probably some ale as well. He wasn't sure if he would be in a good mood to attend any party, especially since Erwin was the guest of honour and would most likely be passed around the party all night. He likely wouldn't have the time to spend with Levi, and Levi wasn't sure he would be able to attend the party without starting a fight with anyone that wasn't Erwin.

"I don't think I'll be company." He admitted. "I… I didn't even know it was your birthday." He replied.

"That's because you were in the medical building for it last year." Erwin replied. "You got injured by that new recruit and had to spend a week in there."

Levi frowned. "So I did." He replied. No wonder he never knew when Erwin's birthday was. He supposed that the blonde never did anything to mark the occasion.

"Well, we're going to be in the mess hall. If you want to join us." Hanji replied cheerfully. "You should come, Levi. Even if it's just for the cake."

Levi snorted once. He wasn't sure what cake was. He saw it before as they passed bakeries and merchants on their way out of the walls, but he never had any. Expensive goods were never seen in the Underground City, so he hadn't really paid much attention to them.

"I'm fine." He replied.

"Are you sure-" Hanji began.

Levi turned to face her. He glared. "I don't like cake." He stated, shaking his head slightly to emphasize his words.

Hanji looked to Erwin and Erwin looked to Hanji. He stood up then. "Well, if you want to join us, you're more than welcome to." He replied, hoping that Levi would take them up on the offer.

Levi stared at where the blanket rested on his knees. "Yeah, sure." He replied. He knew he wouldn't be going.

Erwin headed over to stand beside Hanji, then turned back to glance once more at Levi. He opened his mouth to say something, then simply sighed and walked away.

Hanji followed after him, shutting the door behind herself.

Erwin was undoubted frustrated, but he was trying not to show it. He walked quickly towards the mess hall, trying to plaster on a smile. He knew his friends had worked hard to buy the small cake for his birthday and make an occasion of it, so he didn't want to appear sullen on the celebration.

He had been trying over the last year to get closer to Levi, but the smaller man held his guard high. While he trusted what Erwin did and followed his order without question, he seemed to clam up every time the focus turned to himself. He oddly seemed eager to serve but reluctant to open up about himself, which Erwin was unable to understand why. Levi did have a temper and a good judge of character, which made it difficult for Erwin to understand why the dark-haired man trusted him in work but not as a friend.

And if he was being honest, Erwin was disappointed because he wanted to be more than Levi's friend. He admired him as a soldier, but he also admired him for being… him. It started out with Erwin finding some of his behaviours amusing, and then he found himself using words like 'cute' and 'adorable' when he watched Levi do something that he found rather attractive. It was a while before Erwin realized he wanted to get closer to Levi and finally he realized he was possessive about him. Not because he had brought him to the Survey Corps, but because he didn't want anyone to get as close to Levi as he wanted to.

Erwin had only been attracted to one other person before, but he wasn't sure if he had truly desired her the way he desired Levi. He wasn't even sure if he would consider himself bisexual, since he never had a heterosexual experience. While he had admired Marie for her kindness and her intelligence, Erwin found that he never could fall for her the way he had for Levi. In hindsight, he found the thought of flirting with Marie more attractive than actually flirting with her because it had upset Nile so greatly. The competition was more arousing that the lady, which made Erwin confident in his feelings for Levi.

The problem was he wasn't sure how to tell Levi. He wasn't sure if Levi was even homosexual. If he offended him, it could make his care over the past year seem manipulative and risk disciplinary action from the commander - or even Zackly himself. Yet Levi was so damn tight-lipped about anything about himself that it was impossible to learn anything about him except that he liked black tea and rice. A whole year had passed and Erwin had only learnt Levi's favourite meal.

Erwin was forced to push his frustration aside as he entered the mess hall to a chorus of "Happy Birthday" from several of his friends. He smiled and began to thank everyone, heading over to the table in the centre of the room that held the round chocolate cake decorated with white buttercream icing and chocolate drip. He waited until they all finished singing, and then he made his wish, blew out his candle, and began to cut the cake.

* * *

Levi had stayed on the couch for several minutes after Erwin and Hanji left, glaring at the spot on the couch where the blonde had sat and breathing deeply. He was angry. He had hoped that he would learn Erwin's birthday before the day this year, so that he could have something ready for him. But he had only managed to appear like an ass that didn't even care.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Levi?" He asked himself, putting a hand to his forehead. He wanted to cry. He had fucked things up again. And this meant that he would have to endure more time with Erwin that was awkward and tense and only drive them apart. He wasn't sure what to do, since he knew that one day Erwin would be fed up with his constant shitty attitude and simply stop caring to invite him anywhere at all.

"I should go to the damn party." He sighed, then groaned loudly. "But I didn't get him anything." He moaned, burying his face in his hands. Since he got paid a wage, even though it was small, he wanted to save up and buy Erwin something from one of the shops. He hoped to get him a new pen or perhaps a comb - he found Erwin's hair rather enamouring and often wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through - but now it was after closing time and there was no way he could get to any shop before morning. He was sure everyone else would show up to the party with a gift, so he was hesitant to attend without one.

"And what if I don't like the cake?" He asked himself, realizing that it would only make him appear ruder if he spat it out in front of everyone. "Fuck, why is this so hard?" He asked.

Levi stood up and headed to the window. He was wearing his white button up but Erwin must have taken his jeans off him when he put him to bed. The blonde had done this serval times, but Levi was sure he only did it to make sure Levi was comfortable in his sleep. It didn't matter to Levi if he slept in clothing or not, and he trusted Erwin wouldn't have sexualized taking his clothes off when he was asleep, but it was concerning the first few times he woke up half naked. He supposed that was why Erwin left his shirt on him, so he eventually became indifferent to the fact that the blonde was simply looking out for him.

'Maybe I can write him a letter?' Levi wondered, gazing out the window at the sinking sun. He sighed then, realizing that he wouldn't know how to spell many of the words he wanted to say. He wasn't sure if he would even give Erwin the letter or even sign it.

'Maybe I'll just give him a hug?' He shrugged, meeting eyes with his reflection of the window. 'Or maybe I will just pretend to be asleep when he gets here.'

Levi wasn't sure how long he sat in the window and considered what to get Erwin for his birthday. He had gotten lost in his own thoughts, so the sound of the door opening caused him to jump up in fright. The sky outside was dark and the room was dimly light by only the silver moonlight filtering in through the uncovered windows.

Erwin paused and gazed around. He appeared to sway on his feet and held tightly onto the door handle. "Levi," He whispered loudly, "Are you awake?"

Levi found it slightly amusing that the blonde would immediately call out to him. He allowed himself to pretend that this was because they were already a couple in love and decided to play along with his fantasy, seeing as Erwin appeared to be intoxicated.

"No, I waited up for you." He stepped towards Erwin.

Erwin's bright eyes immediately landed on him and Levi was suddenly not sure If Erwin was drunk or had simply tripped. "I brought you some cake." The blonde replied.

Levi's eyes widened. That was why Erwin tripped. He was holding a piece of cake on a plate and two cups of black tea, which must've made it hard to open the door.

"Oh." Levi replied, not sure what to say. He knew that his previous words had been too bold to be taken as work colleagues.

"Let's light some candles in here, huh?" Erwin asked, stepping inside and closing the door with his boot. He paused to lock the door with his elbow, then headed to a small round table and set the food and drinks down.

"Sure," Levi replied, approaching the table and feeling around for the matches. He picked one up, struck it against the surface of the table to light it, then lit several candles. The room was suddenly more illuminated and felt more inviting.

"Please, take a seat." Erwin pulled out a chair for Levi, immediately sitting down in one beside the one he had pulled out. "Everyone else is still at the party, but I thought I would sneak away. It was getting out of hand, with lots of them drunk."

Levi sat down in the chair Erwin had pulled out and swallowed nervously. "Happy birthday, Erwin." He whispered, "I'm sorry I didn't know it was today or I would've-" he began.

"Would've what?" Erwin asked, cutting him off. His eyes sparkled with amusement. He clearly hadn't drank any alcohol.

"Um," Levi replied, "You're surprisingly… sober… for someone whose birthday it is today." He replied, suddenly just stating what was on his mind.

"Am I?" Erwin replied in a soft tone of voice, his thick eyebrows raising up in surprise. He then gave Levi a smile and added, "So I am."

The right side of Levi's lips curved into a half-smile, showing Erwin that he was in fact amused himself at the blonde's play on his common expression.

"So you are." He agreed, nodding. "And you… brought me cake?" He asked.

"So I did." Erwin chuckled, then pushed a small vase of flowers out of the way so that he could push the plate towards Levi. "It's a small piece, but I thought you would want to try it."

"I said I didn't like cake." Levi stated, raising a thin eyebrow. "What made you bring some anyways?"

"Well, firstly you said that to Hanji." Erwin smirked. "Secondly, I… figured you never tried any."

Levi looked down and leaned away, not sure if he should be offended by Erwin's bold remark. "That… that's a bit… personal." He stated. "I could have tried it before."

"When?" Erwin asked. He hadn't anticipated to get this close to Levi over a slice of cake, but now that he had he was determined to get answers from him.

"Uh, in the Underground. Or after coming up here." Levi replied. "What would it matter?"

"But you never did." Erwin pushed, his tone of voice almost eager.

Levi frowned. "No, I never did. But why does that matter."

"Then you should." Erwin stated matter-of-factly. "Because you can't dislike it if you never tried it. And it's my birthday cake so if you don't try it, then-" He frowned and looked down, falling silent.

"Then what?" Levi prompted. "It's bad luck or something?"

Erwin looked up in surprise. "Yeah." He sighed, "Stupid to believe silly superstitions, huh?" He asked.

Levi's eyes widened. "No way! I was joking!" He sighed. "Fine. I don't want any bad luck to come to y-" Levi paused, recalling the snapping sound of Erwin's bones. Without another word, he picked up the fork and speared the prongs through the front of the cake, scooping up a large triangular bite and shoving it into his mouth.

Erwin's watched him in shock, not expecting Levi to suddenly just try the cake in such a violent manner.

Levi blinked several times, then began to chew. He was overwhelmed by how sweet the cake was. It was moist and the icy was like how he imagined a cloud to feel. He chewed several times, trying to find words to describe the flavour and the texture, but it was unlike anything he had ever eaten before.

Erwin watched him eagerly, his jaw dropped open in surprise. "How is it?" He asked as soon as Levi swallowed.

Levi didn't reply. He was already taking a second bite of the cake. He moaned then, a soft sound of pleasure, and then gasped as soon as he swallowed. "That's… not bad." He replied, then smiled. "That's… it's like a hug in your mouth."

Erwin began to laugh, amused by Levi's description. "I knew you would like it." He replied, reaching out to touch Levi's shoulder. He was glad that the smaller man didn't move out from under his hand. He watched him continue to eat his cake until there was none left.

"Thank you." Levi stated, sincerity in his voice as he met Erwin's gaze. "For sharing your birthday cake with me."

Erwin smiled, then sipped at his tea. He waited until Levi wrapped his fingertips around the rim of his cup and took a sip, before he replied. "Thank you for trying it. You know, birthday tradition is that you get a wish with your cake."

Levi gave Erwin a curious gaze and sipped his tea, expected him to continue.

"Only one wish. When you blow the candles on the cake out." Erwin waved a hand, "You have to blow them out before you cut the cake, so you didn't see this."

Levi nodded, then took another sip, waiting for Erwin to continue. The bitterness of the black tea complimented the sweetness of the cake that lingered on his tongue.

"The thing is," Erwin continued, "you shouldn't tell anyone what you wished for. But, I'm going to have to tell you."

Levi's eyes widened. "Why me?" He asked. "I don't want to give you any bad luck."

Erwin chuckled softly. "Because this year for my birthday I wished that you would tell me about your nightmares, Levi. I want to know why you keep waking up screaming."

Levi gasped and quickly looked away. "Th- that's… not fair." He stated. He began to tremble so he put his teacup down, afraid that it would break.

"Please, Levi." Erwin replied, "I want to help you. I know you were close to them, your friends. But that's the nature of the Survey Corps. Is it just them that you see? Is it more? The others? Please, let me understand."

Levi pressed his lips together. He hoped Erwin would give up if he stayed silent long enough. Then he felt Erwin drop his hand form his shoulder to his knee and he suddenly realized that this could be the moment that Erwin gave up on him. He would have wished to get closer to Levi, to know him better, and Levi would simply eat his cake and reject his wish.

"It's you." He whispered, meeting Erwin's gaze. He knew he was taking a risk in telling Erwin the truth, but he hoped that the blonde would be able to understand that he wasn't able to control his feelings of fear and love. "I keep seeing you… die. In a storm just like… just like Isabel and Furlan. I can hear your bone snapping." He inhaled sharply and then exhaled shakily, trying to focus on Erwin being alive and well and right in front of him.

Erwin gasped in surprise. He had thought that Levi might have been having nightmares of other soldiers dying, but he never imagined that it would be himself. He licked his lower lip and leaned in then, giving Levi's knee a squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere, Levi." He promised, "A titan isn't going to keep me from you."

Levi's eyes widened. Erwin's words were like a dagger to his heart. His heart was racing and he felt queasy. He was afraid he was going to pass out and see Erwin dying again, so he did the only thing he could think to do in the moment and that was lean forwards and press his lips to Erwin's.

Erwin made a soft noise of surprise, then wrapped his arms around Levi's smaller body and lifted him off his chair and into his lap, all the while maintaining their kiss.

Levi's gasped in surprise but wrapped his legs around Erwin's waist, letting the dangle off the sides of the chair. "Erwin," he whispered his name in surprise.

Erwin only smiled at Levi. "I waited that for a very long time." He replied, a blush crossing his cheeks. "I didn't want to tell you, in case you didn't feel the same way."

Levi's eyes shimmered with tears and he found himself smiling. "I don't want to lose you, Erwin." He whispered, "I love you too much to lose you."

Erwin chuckled softly and rubbed Levi's back. "I love you too, Levi." He whispered, then kissed him briefly one more time. "How about… you sleep in bed… with me tonight?" He asked. "We don't have to do anything if you don't want to, but… maybe it will keep the nightmares away?"

Levi blushed, his cheeks finally turning a soft rose colour. "I would… like that." He replied. "I'm… sorry I didn't get you anything for your birthday, Erwin. I-"

Levi fell silent as he caught a glance of the flowers in the vase. "Actually," He began, "Would you like to know how we celebrated birthdays in the Underground?" He asked.

Erwin's eyes widened and he nodded eagerly. "I would love to." He replied.

Levi was quiet, saying nothing as he reached out and took the flowers out of the vase. He dried their stems with a napkin, then began to twist them together, tying the flowers into an organic crown.

"The man who raised me would try to get me some tea on my birthday. Or sometimes I would get a fruit. But after he left I stopped celebrating." Levi explained as he twisted the stems.

Erwin watched him work, enamoured by how his thin fingers adeptly and carefully formed the crown. He said nothing, amazed that he had gotten so close to Levi in just one night. He understood why Levi had been so defensive now, having been hiding his crush on Erwin for quite some time.

"One year, Furlan and me were planning to… you know, gather some supplies." Levi chuckled softly, affection in his voice. "And he goes, 'isn't that you birthday, Levi?' I… well, I replied, 'yeah. At least this way we can have some food to celebrate.' And Isabella, she… she didn't think food was good enough. So she made me one of these. Gathered the flowers from the ledge we would climb up to. It was the highest point in the city. We could only really get there with the gear. It was our only exposure to grass. To sunlight. To rain."

Levi turned the crown in his hands and pressed all the stems into place, securing them gently. "So she snuck up there and gathered some of the flowers and put this on my head. Of course, I had to get her back for it. So every time we had a birthday, one of the three of us, we'd gather some flowers and make these damn crowns."

Levi glanced up at Erwin, who in turned bowed his head. Levi chuckled softly and placed the flower crown on Erwin's hair, his fingertips brushing his silky blonde hair.

Levi's heart soared as he touched Erwin's golden hair and he smiled at the blonde. "You make a very handsome prince."

"A prince?" Erwin asked, then chuckled softly. "Is that what you called each other on your birthdays?"

"Well, we had the crown." Levi teased. "And big dreams of living on the surface one day."

Erwin wrapped his arms around Levi's waist and held him close. "Thank you, Levi." He whispered, before leaning in to kiss his cheek.

"Happy birthday, Erwin." Levi replied, before turning his face and catching Erwin's kiss on his lips.

The End.

* * *

Happy Birthday Erwin!


End file.
